The single from the NYC indie band ~with Bulgarian teeth~ “is about finding catharsis and radical joy in the face of self-defeat”
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To err is human—
But for real. There are few things more inherently homosapien than royally fucking things up. Than acting in ways that contradict our values and are detrimental to our true desires… stunting our growth, sabotaging our happiness and working against what’s ultimately best for both our own and the greater good.
It’s kind of the area where we stand out as a species. That and things that require opposable thumbs.
But while the erring might be where we collectively excel, our perspective on this depressing human tendency is entirely personal. Do you view it with sadness and cynicism or opt instead to take a more unexpected, optimistic approach?
As they worked through iterations of their newest song “Dislocated Eye”, NYC indie band Smoke Break transformed their own outlook as they switched up their sounds, crafting a song about regret that’s not rooted in denial or devastation but jubilation. It’s a catchy, delightfully danceable call to accept this inevitability and not just face, but embrace, our fallibility. This isn’t divorced from a dream to do better but descendant from it. To say fuck it, refuse to succumb to sorrow and keep trying. To joyfully skip down the route that resulted from all these missteps while hoping for (though not necessarily expecting) a better future.
But maybe it’s better to hear it from the band:
“‘Dislocated Eye’ started as a tongue-in-cheek punk tune that quickly grew into an examination of regret and consequences. It clicked on that deeper level when we threw away the ingredients that had been setting us back, turned it upside down, and introduced the indie-disco beat you hear in the track. What started as a simple commentary song turned into an explosive, joyful, chaotic, celebration of life in the face of self-destructive cycles. These cycles extend past us as people, to groups, and nations. The wrong choices, the wrong turns, the wrong people in the wrong seats of power, and suddenly we’re back where we started wondering how we didn’t learn, and why we didn’t dream bigger and better. This song is about finding catharsis and radical joy in the face of self-defeat.”
While the single came out back in April, it’s my pleasure to (re)introduce it to you via video with this premiere. From Smoke Break, it’s the music vid for “Dislocated Eye.”
Throw the dust into the wind // Go break it all again // The hard part’s over now // But the worst is still to come
The beauty of the above is that I don’t have to describe the Smoke Break live experience; you can kinda get the vibe via video. Bulgarian singer Petar Mandjukov is an utter joy of a frontman, an enthusiastic and energetic indie-punk pixie jumping and shaking and spinning and skipping around the stage, so in love with what he’s doing that you can’t help but get sucked into it as well.
It’s hard to imagine Smoke Break without this singer; but the band has actually existed in multiple iterations before the current lineup (while drinking at the bar at Arlene’s Grocery, where I first met the band, I was told by one member that they’d found their “fourth and final” frontman in Petar). The project began with Guitarist Max Kern and Bass Player Nat Lezra, and they’ve most recently added the Brit Brendan Watters on drums, making for a band with not just influences but real roots running from Manchester, England to Sofia, Bulgaria to right here in NYC. As Smoke Break says, this dynamic has resulted in an “increasingly European edge, bringing the band to its strongest and most joyful incarnation yet.”
Don’t miss your next chance to catch the group live. To err might be human, sure, but that’s one mistake you def don’t want to make.
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Follow Smoke Break at @smokebreak_theband and at the songs to your Spotify playlists!
Feature image (provided by the band): Michelle LoBianco